A/N: Hey guys, back with another chapter, you'll get to learn more about Haley's life after that night. Thank you all SO SO MUCH for the kind reviews as well! They really make a writer feel loved (: LOL. Hope you guys like this chapter too.
The sun shone brightly through the wide windows, streaming the bright Monday sunlight into the her office.
"Morning Haley, bought you a cup of coffee," Mel said chirpily as she barged into the room.
Haley rubbed her swollen eyes tiredly. "Thank you, Mel. Appreciate the caffeine fix."
"You could sure use it," the other woman grinned. "You look like the devil paid you a visit late last night."
"If the devil comes by the name of Nathan," Haley shrugged, "Then, yeah, I did get a visit."
"For real?" Mel gasped, nearly spilling her own cup of coffee. "He's here?"
"Nah, just in the form of his memories."
Mel rolled her eyes, and reached over to give Haley a smack on her arm. "You had me there. I was about to tell you to let me at him already, so I can squash him to bits with a meat cleaver."
Haley smiled at her business partner's graphic violence. Mel was her only other friend she could trust in Boston besides Peyton, and the only other person who knew about her whole mess with Nathan besides Peyton, Brooke and Lucas. Peyton had been well, Peyton. She had been there firsthand, Haley had stayed in her house for awhile after that long night many years ago, and she'd never told Nathan a single word. She'd never wanted to tell Peyton about what really happened, because she didn't want Peyton to look at him in a different light; she'd always had a special connection with Nathan. It had been tough telling Peyton what had really happened, but she was glad that she had, she knew she could always count on her. Brooke, who surprisingly had been the first one she had told, had been understanding and was silent encouragement, which had been oddly comforting. Lucas, on the other hand, had been angered, and he had wanted to kill Nathan when she'd told him. She'd never seen him like that before, and it scared her. She didn't rest until she'd made him promise that he'd never hurt Nathan, or told him about what she'd saw. Mel balanced out the three of them, she was sympathetic and yet, at the same time, violent and aggressive.
It had been a long five years. Seeing Nathan like that, with her sister, had broken her. She'd turned around and run, her hand over her mouth. Nowhere to go, no one to run to. She didn't know where she'd been going, but she'd just continued running in the night. Somehow, she'd ended up on Peyton's doorstep, which had been nearest to her apartment. Peyton had asked no questions. She took Haley in, tears and all, and gave her a hot meal and a bed to crash on for the next seven days. She didn't leave the house, she didn't go to school, she stayed in bed. Everybody else had thought she had left Tree Hill to be on the tour with Chris. Only Peyton and Brooke, and later on, Lucas and Jake, knew better.
Brooke had surprised her greatly. She'd found Haley by accident, when she'd came to look for Peyton. Throughout the seven days, Haley never left the bed. She stayed in the whole day, her minutes changing into hours, her hours evolving into days, she lost count of time, lost count of the tears she'd cried. Peyton had left, sometimes to baby sit Jenny, sometimes to the docks to work on her strips for Thud. But Brooke stayed with her, talking to her, sometimes even managing to get her mind of everything else. She'd never been close to Brooke, but somehow, she'd felt herself being drawn to her simple warmth. Brooke had said that she couldn't let one of the schools best tutors be like that; it was her job as a candidate for student council President. But amidst all the stories Brooke had told her, and between all the daily stories she'd kept Haley updated with, one very story stood out in her mind. The burden of everything had weighed down, too much for Haley to take, and in a sudden breakdown, every single detail, everything she had saw, it all came out in front of Brooke. Surprisingly, Brooke had been the first person she'd ever told. Brooke had looked at her, at first in shock, and then in silent strength.
"I've had relationships, Haley," she had said. "Many which I didn't give a damn about, some which probably I don't remember, and many others which don't even classify as relationships. But I've only had one very special one. I don't know if it ever was as special as what you had with Nathan, but I really loved Lucas. Or maybe I thought I did."
"And it was painful, to see him with Peyton like that. I was in bed for days after, just like you are now. I didn't know if I'd ever be able to heal, but look at me now. I don't want to claim that I can understand what you feel right now, but when you feel like you can't go on? You can, Haley. There's much more in you than just this. And you know we've all got your back, right?" she said, reaching out to squeeze my hand. "Tutor girl," she finally added, smiling faintly.
That day had shone realisation in her, from someone she'd never thought she'd see it come from. Brooke had persuaded her to confide in Lucas, and she had. Lucas had been furious, his eyes had blazed violently as he swore he'd kill Nathan. But as much as he'd wanted to hurt Nathan, he'd also seen the need for him to just be her best friend. To just supply the strength that she was slowly starting to find again. He'd brought her back to the apartment, a day after Nathan had moved out and helped her get her things. She'd found her bags hidden under the bed, along with the wedding wall, broken into half. Her keyboard lay in the corner, shattered to pieces. It had been hard, but Lucas was by her side, keeping her standing strong as she cried, and as she retrieved the colourful bracelet she found wedged between the cushions of the couch, abandoned.
It had been difficult saying goodbye to everyone in Tree Hill, but it was the one person she didn't say goodbye to, it was him that mattered the most. He didn't even know she had still be around, in his mind, she had been gone that night with Chris. She'd said her goodbyes to the girls, Lucas and Jake, and Karen and left with her parents in their RV. They'd brought her to Massachusetts, where she'd attended Boston College. That whole year, she'd never taken a second glance at her guitar, let alone strum a solitary string. She had roomed with Mel, while her parents went off travelling again. Mel reminded her so much of Brooke; she may have seemed like a blond bimbo to everyone else, but to Haley, Mel was quietly intelligent, loyal and perceptive. You only had to look beneath her façade to see those, but plenty never bothered. Failing was never an option to Mel, when other people failed, she picked them off the ground. When she failed, she didn't fall, she merely bounced back up again. They'd both graduated from college and had both successfully gotten admitted into Harvard. Mel had found a penchant for law, surprising everyone including herself, and had gotten in the prestigious law school there. Haley had chosen business, double majoring in Accounting and Management. And it wasn't until when she'd started at Harvard that she'd picked up her guitar again. For special credits, all student had had to take up a special art unit, and when it came for the time to fill in the registration form, she had felt a strong pull to circle the option that would let her do music. It was then, that she'd started to free herself.
She'd graduated top of her class, and along the way, had acquired herself a teaching diploma in music. And like a strange twist of fate, Mel's family, one of the richest and most influential families in Boston, owned a music school. Once Mel was of legal age, she was automatically made one of the holding executives. And being Mel, once she had found out about Haley's love for music, had literally wrestled her into being one of the business partners for the school, and one of teachers there. She handled the business aspects of the school, and taught piano and guitar. And Haley admitted, it had been a godsend. It was a job she loved, doing something that she'd held dearly to her heart.
i It's not me against the world, it's me with the world /i , she thought. i Nathan has always been a big part of that world; and music comes with Nathan /i .
Somehow those words she had said that night had always stayed with her, only that she hadn't known it. Her against the world, that had been how she had felt after that night, torn and unloved. She had felt like everything had been thrown against her, like God had taken away everything that she'd loved. She knew she wouldn't completely heal, but she had started healing. And it was then, after a year when she had healed as much as she could possibly have, that she had inherently realised that it wasn't her against the world, it was her with the world. And that was when her music had started coming again. She started playing again. But without Nathan, it had been difficult. Music came with Nathan, and it so many ways, it still stood. She had not written a single song since then. She had sat down many times with a guitar, behind the piano and tried to write what she was feeling, but she came up with nothing that could even classify as a song. Many unfinished, many with melodies that she couldn't find the words to, and many words she couldn't piece with song.
"Earth to Haley," Mel said, snapping her fingers.
Haley shook out of her thoughts. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I was thinking about the accounts," she lied.
Expertly, Mel cocked her professionally plucked eyebrow. "That's the feeblest lie I've ever heard," she said. "And I have heard plenty in my day. You are a horrible liar, Lil."
Haley smiled as Mel used her nickname. In their university days, they had stuck together, and Mel's tall and confident stance against Haley's petite frame had earned them the nicknames 'Big' and 'Lil'; Haley still found it funny till today. "Come on, Big, cut me some slack. Married women have much to deal with."
"If thinking about accounts with a wistful look on their face is what married women do, then I sure as hell don't want to get married any time soon," Mel shot back.
"If you can even find a guy strong enough to pin you down, bring him back to meet me. The poor male species never did hold up your expectations," Haley mockingly shook her head.
Mel glared back at her. "About enough of that, Ms. Haley James-slash-Lil-slash-still hung up over assholic guy-slash-should be wanting to slap bitchface sister-slash-totally never gets out of the house and/or office," she said quickly in one big breath. "I have got something for you."
"You mean besides attitude?" Haley said tiredly, forcing a grin.
"I ran into the most delicious guy at a club last night, and he's totally you. Talks a lot about music."
"Right, but he spent the night in your bed, didn't he?"
Mel put a hand over her heart. "Lil, I'm offended!" she kidded. "We didn't hit it off. So- " she paused dramatically. "I set him up on a blind date with you!"
"How could you not hit- " Haley stopped as she heard Mel complete her sentence. "You what?"
Mel smiled meekly. "It seemed like a good idea after two dry martinis."
Haley's mouth fell open. She opened her mouth and started to speak, holding up her hands as she ticked one point off each finger. "Melissa Jade Jennings! You are 22 years old! You're not in high school anymore! You are a high profile lawyer, working in one of the top firms in Boston! You graduated magna cum laude! You are supposed to have high comprehension skills! You should not be hooking up with unknown guys in clubs, no matter how delicious they are! And- " she paused, catching her breath, ticking off her last point on her little finger. "You should not be setting your poor old friend up with some unknown guy you barely know!"
"I'll take that as a 'thanks, but no thanks'?" Mel mumbled, her face looking downcast, her lips curving into a pout.
Haley looked at her, sighing. "No, don't give me the famous Mel pout."
Mel pouted even more. "Come on, Lil, you barely get out of the house after office hours, you don't go on dates, I'm starting to worry about you! Are you gay?"
Haley glared at her. "What do you think?"
"Okay, so you're not. But why don't you date? It's been five years, Haley, it's about time. Give it a chance. Forget Nathan. Move. On."
Haley turned around in her swivel chair, facing the bright sky outside. Forget Nathan. Move on. Could she?
"You could try." Mel answered, as though reading her thoughts.
Haley turned back, facing Mel. "Okay," she finally said. "It's a just a date, right?"
Mel broke out into a smile. "We so need to get you a new dress," she shrieked, clapping her hands excitedly.
Haley shook her head, taking in the antics of the other woman, who reminded her so much of Brooke. Maybe she was right, maybe she did need to move on. But could she when she still couldn't bring herself to take off her wedding ring? Maybe all it took was another man to help her take it off.
A/N: More to come soon! In the meantime, do tell me what you think!